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The solution could not be more obvious. It's to rebuild a publicly owned and integrated railway. That can be done at zero or minimal cost, by bringing back each franchise into public ownership as the contracts expire.

The Transport Secretary is seeking legal advice after a court challenge by Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson threatened to derail the awarding of the West Coast Main Line rail franchise to rivals FirstGroup.

Virgin lodged papers at the High Court in London yesterday and a hearing will be held in due course.

Virgin Trains' legal challenge is an application for a judicial review of the decision to award FirstGroup, the West Coast main line contract.

The firm lodged papers at the High Court in London today and a hearing will be held at the court in due course.

It is unclear if this means the final signing of the franchise contract by the Transport Secretary Justine Greening - which is expected tomorrow - will now be delayed pending the outcome of the hearing.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has spoken to ITV News' Business Editor, Laura Kuenssberg, about the decision to take legal action over the government's decision to award a new West Coast franchise to FirstGroup.

Transport company FirstGroup, which already has a number of rail franchises including Great Western and ScotRail, will start operating the London to Scotland West Coast line in December.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson reacted angrily to the decision, branding the bidding process "insane" and threatening to end all involvement with the railways.Today, Virgin, which has operated the West Coast line since 1997, said it was "commencing court proceedings" over the Government decision.

We understand that Virgin Rail Ltd a subsidiary of Virgin Rail Group, a the joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach Group plc, has brought a legal challenge against the Department for Transport in relation to the recent award of the InterCity West Coast rail franchise to FirstGroup.

We have every confidence in the DfT’s process which is rigorous, detailed and fair and in which bids are thoroughly tested. There has been no complaint about the process, which was carefully described in advance, until Virgin Rail Group had lost commercially.

Our focus is to ensure a smooth transition with continuity for staff and passengers alike. We want to get on with delivering the many benefits and improvements we are offering without delay or disruption.

We will continue to prepare for a successful start up of the new franchise on 9 December 2012.